SAN ANTONIO – Over 400 young cowboys and cowgirls come to San Antonio from all over Texas to compete in the only major Youth Rodeo in the country.
The rodeo gives youth a chance to save for their future while doing what they love. The final competitions wrap up Wednesday.
Cole Hort of Victoria, Texas, said he likes making the trip with his horse, Fuzzy, because "it’s exciting. We get to rope, compete and have fun."
Events include pole bending, goat tying, barrel racing, tie-down roping, breakaway roping, ribbon roping and team roping.
A lot of prep work goes into getting ready for the Youth Rodeo. Hort, along with the other competitors, said practice makes perfect.
"We practice all the time. Almost every night we can," said Clayton Houston, a two-time competitor from Decatur, Texas. "It's a lot to take care of a horse. It's a lot at the rodeo to make sure he's OK, and nothing happens to him and to make sure he's fed on time."
The Youth Rodeo began in 2014, attracting hundreds of competitors 18 years and younger from all over the state.
"It's all kids, Texas 4H and FFA youth, and we've got over 400 kids filling the barn with more than 800 horses," said Katie Reynolds, the horse show director for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
"Just that we have the opportunity to come here, and compete against all these kids, and to be able to come around Texas and do what we like to do," Houston said.
Many of the young cowboys and cowgirls rode away a winner. The three-day Youth Rodeo awarded $70,000 in scholarships.